I'd like to bear my testimony...

Have you ever been to a fast and testimony meeting and listened to it as if you had never been to our church before?  The first thing that strikes me, when I do this, is the phrase that almost all children say. They could be anywhere from 2-20 years old and most of the time their testimony begins with, "i'd like to bear my testimony, i know the church is true".  Now, i've noticed that you rarely hear adults begin their testimonies this way.  Why do we continue to insist that our children utter these magic testimony words?  How can they, at 3, "know the church is true"? Many people at 30 are still trying to figure that out for sure.  I understand the faith of a child and that they have an innocence and understanding that many of us lose as we work our way into adulthood.  At the same time, when said by every single child and prompted by every parent, it sounds very rote and almost ritualistic.  A testimony is still a testimony without these words as its precursor.  I love to see and hear children bear their testimonies and share their feelings and experiences.  I feel like the repetition of this phrase cheapens it and makes it feel like something that you just say, without feeling and without thought. Unfortunately, it feels much like the close of a testimony, "in the name of Jesus Christ, amen." When we invoke the name of the Savior at the end of our testimonies, we are inviting His stamp of approval on the things we've said.  However, often times we rush through "inthenameaJesusChristamen". It feels like we sometimes put the same amount of thought and feeling into the beginning and the end of our testimonies...that is- very little or no thought and feeling.  I think as parents, we can do more for our children by talking about how Christ is influencing their lives than teaching them to repeat the words "i'd like to bear my testimony, i know this church is true".  They need to understand what a testimony is and that it centers around Christ and the truly important aspects of the gospel.  Also, teaching them to respect the name of the Savior when they close their testimonies and their prayers, and to think about Him as they say His name.  I think when the church sends out letters about children's participation in testimony meeting, it is simply to eliminate rote, memorized words that everyone repeats, without thought or feeling.  When children stand and share their feelings, the things that are happening to them, it brings the influence of the Spirit in a powerful way.